When I told y’all I was a picky child, you probably thought I meant that I would only eat, like, chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, Cheerios and PB&J sandwiches, right? Because that’s what a normal picky child eats.

But I was not a normal picky child (just like I’m not a normal picky adult — thought I do eat a lot more now than I did then). I hated peanut butter (still don’t like it that much), I wouldn’t eat cold sandwiches (deli meat is disgusting) and I didn’t like cereal. This made breakfast and brown-bag lunches a challenge for my poor mother.

Luckily for everyone, I started eating granola in college (without raisins, obviously). And now I will eat most cereals. But I had never tried muesli… and I never really knew what it was. The name wasn’t very appealing to me, and I figured it was probably dry and crunchy and tasted like sawdust.

But, as is so often the case, I was totally wrong. Muesli is fruity and tasty and not dry at all. Even elementary school Jen (or Elise, depending on the year) might have eaten it. The only thing crunchy about it is the delightful sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts on top.

It doesn’t take long to make, either. And since it needs to be assembled the night before, it’s a great (healthy) grab-and-go breakfast. Who has time to make fancy oatmeal or an omelet before work anyway? Not me.

Did I mention it’s pink? Toby didn’t seem to mind taking a gelato container filled with a pink fruit-and-oat concoction to work, though. Maybe because it’s really good? Or maybe it’s just that the container could be hidden in his backpack.

Raspberry muesli with hazelnuts (Serves 1-2, adapted from Bon Appetit)
1/2 large apple (use a sweet variety, not something too tart)
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
juice of 1/2 navel orange or 1 clementine orange
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Core the apple but leave the skin on. Shred or grate the apple (and skin) using a box grater or food processor. Place in a bowl with the dry oats. Stir in the yogurt and squeeze in the orange juice. Add the frozen raspberries and a pinch of salt, if desired, and mix well.

Cover the mixture and refrigerate it overnight. To serve, sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for sprinkling toasted hemp seeds on top of the muesli along with the hazelnuts. I didn’t do that because I couldn’t find hemp seeds and it seemed kind of ridiculous to track them down for this one recipe. If you want some additional nutritional benefits and you don’t want to track down hemp seeds either, try sprinkling ground flax seed on top.